Mental health of Korean adults before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Special Report of the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

• Published in: Epidemiology and health Vol. 44; p. e2022042
• Main Authors: Jeong, Hyunsuk, Park, Suyeon, Kim, Jihee, Oh, Kyungwon, Yim, Hyeon Woo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Society of Epidemiology 25-04-2022
• Subjects: COVID-19; depression; korea national health and nutrition examination survey; mental health; stress; suicide; COVID-19; Depression; KNHANES; Suicide plans; Stress; Mental health
• ISSN: 2092-7193; 2092-7193
• DOI: 10.4178/epih.e2022042

COVID-19 and the associated social distancing, limited freedom, and fear of an uncertain future are expected to have substantial mental health effects. We investigated mental health responses in the community during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.
We used the KNHANES(2016-2019) to assess pre-pandemic mental health status and the KNHANES 2020 survey data for the evaluation during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mental health status was evaluated perceived severe stress, depression, and suicidal plans. All analyses were stratified by sex. Pre-specified subgroup analyses were performed according to age, employment condition, and household income.
The percentage of Korean adults with suicidal plans increased significantly from 1.3%(95%CI: 1.1-1.5) in 2016-2019 to 1.8%(95%CI: 1.4-2.1) in 2020. In subgroup analyses, individuals in their 20s and 40s showed a marked increase in suicidal plans of 1.2%(95%CI: 0.0-2.3) and 0.9%(95%CI: 0.0-1.8) percentage points, respectively. In men, depression and perceived severe stress increased significantly from pre- to during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, there was a 2.4%(95%CI: 0.8-4.0) increase in depression among standard workers and a 2.9% increase in depression in individuals in the second highest quintile of household income from 2016 and 2018 to 2020.
As COVID-19 continued, mental health issues such as suicidal plans, depression, and severe stress increased significantly in young men and people in the second highest quintile of household income. Proactive community mental health efforts are needed to prevent prolonged exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic from resulting in increases in the suicide rate.